U.S. Attorney did not pursue charges

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The family of a man who died in an alleged altercation with an owner and employees of DC9 nightclub will file a wrongful death lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court Friday.

The multimillion dollar civil suit comes almost a year after the death of Ali Mohammed.

Mohammed was denied entry into the U Street Corridor club about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 15, 2010, and allegedly broke the club's window. Witnesses reported the man was then chased down by five people who worked at the club and kicked and beaten, police said. Police made arrests based on those initial reports, and the medical examiner ruled the case a homicide because of the involvement of other people, saying restraint of Mohammed was a contributing factor in his death.

Mohammed’s family said the medical examiner listed his death as excited delirium associated with arrhythmogenic cardiac anomalies, alcohol intoxication and physical exertion with restraint -- he was agitated and intoxicated while being restrained and had an arrhythmia. It was ruled a homicide, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office determined the involvement of others was not criminal, so criminal charges were not pursued.

Witness accounts and medical and physical evidence did not support the story of a beating, the U.S. Attorney’s investigation determined. The five people from DC9 chased Mohammed and restrained him while waiting for police, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A family spokesperson called it a “vigilante-style death.”

Initially, a co-owner and four DC9 employees each was charged with second-degree murder. Those charges were later reduced to aggravated assault before being dropped without prejudice for the duration of the investigation.